


The Lies and The Liar

by Alice (Red_Rosepetals)



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dehydration, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Eventual Romance, F/M, Heat Stroke, Hyperventilation, Implied Sexual Content, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Injuries, Panic Attacks, Sexual Fantasy, Shizaya - Freeform, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Unresolved Sexual Tension, based on a prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-07 07:28:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12836259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Rosepetals/pseuds/Alice
Summary: Based on this prompt: Izaya had learned from watching people that love was a weakness, so he never gave a name to the heart stopping feeling that all but consumed him each time Shizuo looked at him in that particular way.In which something is subtly changing and Izaya doesn’t like it.***And he couldn't help the uncomfortable twist of his stomach or the frown that tugged at his lips. He turned towards the sound to see the blonde ex-bartender charging at him with a street sign bending in a too-tight grip. He sighed over-exaggeratedly and tutted, putting on a smirk."My, Shizu-chan, always the aggressor, I see?" He taunted, heart accelerating at the thought of the pursuing chase, the thought of the thrill still an enjoyable thing despite the heat and the humidity and his earlier irritation.





	1. Don’t You Dare Lie To Me, Shinra!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post on this sight, so I will say this from the getgo, comments are very welcome, including criticism (as long as it either relates to the writing itself (grammar, spelling, etc) or the story (plot holes, OOCness, etc)). 
> 
> But I hope you enjoy!

Izaya had learned from watching people so often that love was a weakness. It made people do stupid and foolish and sometimes crazy things and it also ruined friendships and broke people down and tore people apart. Izaya had never been in love, or at least that's what he told himself. Sure, he'd experienced attraction, but never anything that could be described as love, though Shinra had, on several occasions, insisted otherwise. But that was impossible, of course. The nameless and indescribable feeling he felt when Shizuo looked at him _as something other than inhuman, as something other than a hateful, devious bastard_ , that was not love. It made him weak, sure, but it was probably something closer to hatred than love. It was rare anyways, for Shizuo to do that. To look at him in almost wonder and maybe something else. But in the end, it's not like it meant anything.

***

It was a day too hot to hang around outside, too humid to stay out too long when in just minutes, sweat would cling to ever inch of skin and the heat would make a person sluggish and slow. The sun beat down on the heat-scorched sidewalk that was mostly empty. Most people had fled indoors, either to waste away time at a cafe or wherever, but a few still plodded down the street on heavy feet, eyes mostly downcast, tempers shorter than usual when the heat got to their heads and made them irritable.

In a similar way, the heat was getting to Izaya too, and he couldn't wait to get back on a train to Shinjuku and get out of the sticky humidity making his black clothes cling to his skin, and his fur-lined jacket wasn't making matters any better. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket, fingering his switchblade nervously. Now would be a horrible time to run into Shizu-chan and he didn't want to deal with the hassle of confrontation when he just wanted to get to his air-conditioned apartment and cool down.

But of course, his wishes were never granted when he heard a familiar, throaty roar of:

"IZAYAAAA!"

And he couldn't help the uncomfortable twist of his stomach or the frown that tugged at his lips. He turned towards the sound to see the blonde ex-bartender charging at him with a street sign bending in a too-tight grip. He sighed over-exaggeratedly and tutted, putting on a smirk.

"My, Shizu-chan, always the aggressor, I see?" He taunted, heart accelerating at the thought of the pursuing chase, the thought of the thrill still an enjoyable thing despite the heat and the humidity and his earlier irritation.

He easily sidestepped the sign when Shizuo took a swing at him, growling.

"I thought I told you to stay out of Ikebukuro." He snarled, brows furrowed and teeth grit in the likeness of a snarling wolf. The resemblance was almost amusing, but only almost.

"I'm sorry, Shizu-chan, but I don't have the time to-" Izaya abruptly stopped talking when his vision danced for a second, with his vision briefly flashing black for a few stuttering and heart racing moments before it stopped and he steadied his wobbling he hadn't even noticed had been happening. He stilled and flitted his gaze to Shizuo, who was also standing stock still and staring at him oddly.

"Oi flea, are you-" He didn't let Shizuo finish, feeling a sudden flare of rage, and threw his flick blade at Shizuo's shoulder, watching it just barely pierce the flesh. He turned on heel, ignoring the slight stumble to his step and ran as fast as he could, which was slower than he would have liked but he couldn't do anything about it. He pushed down the warm, heart-stopping feeling threatening to overwhelm him because Shizuo's face was haunting his mind and he needed to get away, to get back to Shinjuku where he was safe from a certain blonde debt collector.

There was another stumble and a flare of twisting pain in his ankle and he dropped to the ground like a deadweight, wincing when his ankle twisted at an even worse angle and he could feel more than he could hear the bone snap like a twig. His vision flashed and spotted and swam so much it made him dizzy. He didn't even realize he was gasping more for air than was necessary as a sudden panic attack hit before he could even recognize it at all. The air is forcefully ripped from his lungs and he can only sharply breathe in, quickly and rapidly to fill his lungs with the moisture-heavy air that feels like tar more than it tastes and his lungs feel heavy and empty at the same time and he can't breathe. _He can't breathe. He can't breathe..._

His head throbbed with the lack of oxygen and the heat only intensified the ache. His mouth is dry and parched, half-open and choking in the too-hot, too-humid air. He doesn't move as he tries desperately to steady his breathing, to calm his racing mind, to slow his beating heart, but it all seems to no avail. Black begins to paint his vision, drawing his blurry focus to the white of the concrete below him and the black of the asphalt beside him.  He felt like he was falling, though maybe floating was a better word. His mind grew hazy and his vision darkened completely, leaving him in the cold blackness but not leaving him fully unconscious yet.

"Izaya? Hey, Izaya! Wake up!"

He felt someone shake his shoulder, vaguely heard a voice calling out to him, likely trying to wake him up and ask if he was okay, as if he was, but he knows that whoever's attempts it is, it's futile because he can feel himself drifting closer and closer to unconsciousness.

***

He woke up with a sheen of sweat on his pale, smooth skin. His eyes slowly scanned his surroundings as he let them adjust to the room's lighting to find that he was at Shinra's. He gingerly stepped out of the bed, instantly regretting it when his ankle flared up in pain to remind him that he hadn't just twisted it but broken it on top of that. He winced and fell towards the floor, catching himself with on hand and taking the weight of his injured foot. He sighed in relief when the pain eased, but he cursed himself for ending up in a strange position on the floor.

The door swung open to reveal his brunette friend, who, because he was originally distracted, didn't notice right away that Izaya was on the floor and not on the bed.

"Izaya! Are you okay? You shouldn't have tried to move, you might have made your fracture worse!" The doctor scolded, rushing towards Izaya and offering to help him back up to the bed.

Izaya reluctantly accepted, letting Shinra help him sit up on the bed, but his mind began to wander. How had he gotten to Shinra's? He may have passed out, but if he had, most people would have called an ambulance and he would have woken up in a hospital, not at Shinra's.

"Did Celty bring me here?" He asked, watching Shinra check his injured foot for any new damages.

"Uh, ah, yes, she did." Shinra let out a strange chuckle and Izaya stared down at the doctor with crimson eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What's so funny, Shinra?" He asked, voice light and feathery so that the veiled threat behind his words would ring clearly to his friend. He kicked at Shinra's shoulder with his good foot, not enough to actually hurt, but to convey his sincerity behind the threat of his words.

Shinra stood quickly, having finished his examination, and although relieved to find no new damages, was anxious at Izaya's suspicion and irritation. He had no doubt Izaya would resort to worse if he didn't answer, especially with something that didn't come off as sincere or believable. He swallowed nervously and prayed he wouldn't get killed by his only other friend.

"It's a funny story actually," He began, clearing his throat. Izaya looked less than amused, leveling a dangerous ruby red gaze at Shinra. "Someone else found you passed out on the street and called Celty. Celty recognized you, of course, and when she saw you were injured, she brought you back here to me." Shinra smiled a little nervously, but his smile fell short when he felt the heat of Izaya's glare.

"Now, Izaya-" He started, almost placatingly, but he was cut off.

" _Who_ found me, Shinra? _Who_ would call Celty, of all people, just because they found someone passed out?" His eyes narrowed to slits, but he couldn't advance on Shinra with his injured foot like he wanted to, so he stayed where he was sitting and just let a certain coldness seep into his voice as he let Shinra experience the full wrath in his glare.

"Celty didn't tell me." Shinra answered, perhaps a little too quickly.

However, before anything more could happen, the front door opened and Celty appeared. Shinra ran straight to her, spouting stupid crap about love and Izaya felt his lip curl. Shinra was an example of how love was a weakness, how it made a person do crazy and foolish things. After all, Izaya knew full well that the doctor was keeping the location of her head from Celty out of fear she would leave and/or forget Shinra. Honestly, it was a little amusing, but seriously foolish. To let such an insignificant thing like a single emotion control your actions, it was beyond confounding.

Izaya decided to let it go for now, satisfied with seeing Celty punch the doctor hard for his ramblings and watched their antics with a light smirk and a twinkle in his eyes. He would pay the doctor back for lying to him, of course, but not now. His movements were still impaired anyways, so he wouldn't be going around much with a lame foot. He sighed at the thought of having to deal with restricted movement and hoped Shinra wouldn't confine him to Ikebukuro because of his injury, since he couldn't exactly work from the doctor's apartment, nor did he really want to.

But maybe he could call Namie and convince her to bring at least his laptop to Shinra's apartment and get at least a little something done when he was so restricted in his movements. He just hoped he wouldn't run into Shizuo anytime soon. But when had the fates ever been on his side?


	2. Don’t You Dare Pity Me, Shizu-chan!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It only takes three days for Izaya’s life to unravel seemingly out of his control, four if you count the day he got injured.

It's a mere three days of peace after he first woke up at Shinra's, with the aftermath of passing out on the sidewalk and breaking his ankle. The first day he managed to convince Namie to bring him his laptop by telling her she can take a few days off from work, the second day he actually gets the laptop, and on the third, all hell breaks loose.

***

He's perched on Shinra's couch, scrolling through the chat logs on his laptop when a heavy knock resounded through the apartment. Izaya opted to ignore it, waiting for Shinra to come take care of it since it was his apartment, not Izaya's. It's not like he could answer the door if he wanted to, not with a broken ankle. He doesn't move from his spot when Shinra shuffled towards the door, a scapel held in his hands hid behind his back. When he just barely crops the door open, Izaya froze, feeling his neck tingle, and he slammed his laptop close with a bit more force than necessary, fumbling in his pockets for his switchblade. He hadn't even seen the visitor yet, but his whole existence prickled with wariness and disgust.

Shinra goes to shut the door, but in the face of indomitable strength, the visitor easily managed to slip into the apartment with the _click_ of the door behind him.

Izaya felt the need to leap to his feet- almost did, in fact- but the constant throb in his left ankle was enough of a reminder to stop himself. His hand clenched tight around his switchblade as a nervous anxiety spiked through him, his hand pale as death and clammy with sweat.

"Ah, Shizuo, now's not really a good time-" Shizuo easily brushed the doctor aside, cutting off the other man's sentence with a little more than necessary force to the action.

"Why did you falter?" Shizuo snapped, eyes smoldering with rage as his brown gaze honed in on Izaya.

Izaya doesn't move, he can't move, so he only tightened his grip on his switchblade and tensed warily. He knew he couldn't fight well with his ankle, nor did he want to, and he wasn't sure if he could handle Shizuo as he was. Regardless, his mind was roaring at him to not allow Shizuo to _pity_ him. So far, that didn't seem to be the case, but Izaya couldn't falter again because that meant blurred lines and questions asked that should never be asked.

"You're not supposed to slip up like that!" Shizuo snarled, not advancing towards Izaya, but not backing off either. A mimicry of a standstill, of a draw.

The truth of the matter was they- Shizuo and Izaya- were walking on a thin wire, struggling with the question neither of them wanted to ask with an answer neither of them wanted to admit. That the other wasn't a monster, that the other wasn't as awful as he had made him out to be. That the other was _human_.

Izaya can't say anything because he agrees with Shizuo. Their dynamic _couldn't_ falter, it wasn't _right_...Neither of them were capable of that degree of change, and that's what was driving Izaya mad, clawing at the back of his mind every time Shizuo failed to keep things within the predetermined lines of _enemies_.

But he gathered his scattered mind together and kept up with the act.

"That was your fault, you dumb brute. I was just trying to get home when you suddenly charged at me even though it was so hot out." He sniffed, but he felt a poke of insecurity when he was injured as he was because maybe his act wouldn't come off as believable...

Shizuo snorted.

"Yes, I'm sure it was so unexpected and unpredictable. Not like that happens all the time," he scoffed, but then his voice dipped low and his tone became serious. "But you _never_ stop with the taunting and the smirking. Something was _wrong_ with you."

Izaya couldn't help his sudden fit of laughter, letting the high-pitched and broken and crazed sounds spread through the room.

"Oh, my, _Shizu-chan_ , I never knew you were so hilarious. Didn't you _always_ think there was something _wrong_ with me?" Izaya retorted, clenching and unclenching his chalk-white hand around his switchblade.

Shizuo just growled unintelligibly in response while Shinra looked confused, a little pale at having the two in his apartment at the same time but wondering why Shizuo hadn't flown into a rage yet, despite the ever thickening tension in the air as the two enemies stared each other down over the top of his couch. Shizuo turned heel, bending down towards Shinra and muttering something inaudible to Izaya's ears to the brunette doctor before leaving wordlessly, no goodbye or farewell, no acknowledgment that Izaya was still there. Was he being _ignored_ now?

Well, Izaya couldn't have that, now could he?

***

The following days passed by too slowly and Izaya was getting frustrated, both by his restricted movement as his foot healed but also by being kept at Shinra's, in part because of his injury and also Shinra's forceful insistence. If he'd just sprained his ankle, he wouldn't have to wait so long for the injury to heal. But no, he'd had to break it and limit his mobility and his agility because of it. He couldn't deal with Shizuo just yet, and to say the least, it put quite a damper on his mood and he didn't hold back in annoying Shinra in the slightest.

He hated the feeling of being cooped up in Shinra's apartment and not being able to move freely without crutches or help from another person. It was getting under his skin, slowly but persistently and the longer he was there, the longer Shizuo got to act as he pleased. Well, that wasn't _fair_ , now was it? His fingers stalled above the keyboard of his laptop, twitching with a sudden rush of adrenaline, with a sudden rush of excitement in his blood.

"Shinra," he purred, fluttering his eyelashes at the doctor when he appeared from a different room. "I have a _favor_ to ask." He grinned saccharinely at his brunette friend, who sighed and sat down to listen to whatever Izaya had to say.

***

_It was hot, but not the bad kind of hot like about a week ago. The heat was not the same as the merciless scorch of the sun on the baked sidewalk, laden with humidity that did nothing to quench the thirst that would linger in one’s throat as the moisture in their skin was sucked away by the devouring heat._

_No, this heat was not the same as that. It might have been a little uncomfortable at first, but it was also pleasant. A heat that started in his chest and spread through him like a warm, temperate fire, kissing his skin with something delectable and indescribable. His gaze was hazy as he tried to get the face of the person in front of him in focus, but failing as his mind continually scattered and his panting breaths became heavier._

_But then, the scene shifted. It was earlier. That didn’t make any sense, but Izaya couldn’t dwell on it when he realized he was practically straddling Shizuo’s lap._

_How the hell did things end up like this?!_

_He wanted to leap back and pull out his switchblade, but it was like there was another Izaya who was the one in control of his body and he could only watch as he leaned forward, until his breath tickled Shizuo’s face and a soft giggle escaped his lips._

_“Shizuo, is **this** what you meant when you said there was something wrong with me? That I would call you here while I was vulnerable and goad you into touching me?”_

_The blonde grunted in response, narrowing his mocha eyes like he couldn’t comprehend what Izaya was doing. Neither could Izaya as the one in control shifted his hips even closer to Shizuo’s until they were practically touching and whispered in Shizuo’s ear both dirty talk and taunts. He began to taste Shizuo’s skin, below his ear, his neck, wherever he pleased that he could reach without moving his head too much, and though he couldn’t deny it was enjoyable, his mind protested, demanding that he cease such actions at once, but he didn’t._

_It only worsened from there. His lips trailed down to Shizuo’s collarbone, biting and licking and sucking along the way, and he couldn’t deny that the thrill he got from hearing Shizuo’s restrained noises of pleasure, enough to almost enough to make up for his own actions. His body was trembling and he could easily see where this might lead, and he more insistently screamed against it. But the more he seemed to resist the other Izaya, the more he seemed to be in control, speeding up the pace to get to the end quicker, as though he completely wanted to unravel Izaya, as though he wanted to destroy Izaya. And the more he fought it, the more Shizuo seemed to become complacent and started returning touches to Izaya’s own sensitive flesh._

_His skin tingled at the touch, though not necessarily in a bad way, and he couldn’t recall every feeling a craving this strong. He slowly lost the will to resist as the pleasure intensified, since resisting only seemed to make things worse. He enjoyed it, he enjoyed it, but..._

_His body suddenly jerked, twitching with unforeseen white-hot pleasure and he screamed silently as the feeling flooded his senses and it felt too good..._

***

Izaya’s eyes snapped open and he felt disgust flood him so thoroughly, he almost threw up right then and there. His body still felt hot, though way less than he remembered it being, and his skin was glittering with a sheen of sweat and there was a certain stickiness...

When he’d finished refreshing himself, cleaning himself up from his shameful state, he was left to think. The idea that the dream meant something constantly crept into his mind, but he always dismissed it without a second thought. Even if he did have feelings other than hate for that dumb brute, which he didn’t, such a thing would only ever be a fantasy, since Shizuo would never look at him like he had in the dream, would never see him as anything other than a blood-sucking flea, would only ever hate him. _Right_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. The end was totally unnecessary, but it was kind of like I was practicing writing smut (which I have rarely attempted writing) and I think it turned out okay? Haha.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed regardless lol
> 
> XOXO,  
> Alice


	3. Don’t You Dare Look Down on Me, Celty!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izaya can’t stop himself from thinking about that stupid dream he had and it annoys him to no end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the end seems kind of rushed or anything, I wasn’t quite sure what to write *sigh*
> 
> I do hope you enjoy this chapter regardless
> 
> XOXO,  
> Alice

What most annoyed Izaya, aside from his injury and Shizuo and that ridiculous fucking dream, was Celty. It's not like he hated her or anything, but he knew that she didn't like him and he hated the way she crept around him and mostly avoided him. Was he seriously supposed to believe Celty was the one who had brought him to Shinra? He knew the doctor insisted Celty didn't hate him to the point that she would leave him to die but the way she was acting around him screamed suspicious.

He swore that she was looking down on him for letting something like a mere broken bone weaken him and stop him from doing as he pleased, and as much as he might want to do whatever he wanted, making his injury worse and having it lead to irreparable damage was unappealing, to say the least. But at least his considerations about this distracted him from thinking about _that_. Thinking about _that_ made him feel disgusted, both with himself and Shizuo, and what made things worse was how _**real**_ _that_ had felt, despite the ludicrousness of something like that ever happening.

Because one, Izaya hated Shizuo with a passion, and two, the same could be said of Shizuo towards Izaya himself. But in _that_ , it had been another Izaya who had wanted it, who had manipulated the situation such that it lead to...

Izaya snapped himself out of it when he felt his body heat up slightly against his will. His eyes narrowed and he growled at himself, mentally berating himself for such _weakness_. He hated Shizuo, and that was the end of it. And that feeling he got when Shizuo looked at him _in that way_ was just a psychosis, nothing more, nothing less. Hell, maybe it was because of psychosis that he thought Shizuo had looked at him like that in the first place.

He crutched his way from the guest bedroom awkwardly to the couch in the living room, glad when he was relieved of the annoyance of the crutches and could coil on the couch and drown himself in work to distract himself from his situation, because hell no was he going to let his stupid broken bone prevent him from doing anything, to make him useless, to give Celty reason to look down on him, more than she already did.

Not that he really cared what she thought of him, but anything like pity or condescension was enough to grate on his nerves and make his blood boil almost as hot as Shizuo's when the blonde monster's rage swept over the stupid brute.

It'd been a little over a week and a half since he'd gotten injured, meaning there was still at least four and a half weeks until his bones healed, and likely longer still for him to recover his agility and dexterity after the lack of using his one leg. It irritated him to no end, especially when he though of how easily Shizuo brushed off broken bones and gunshots and stab wounds. He didn't even realize he was frowning and that his brow was creased until he felt a finger pressing between his furrowed brows and he saw Shinra standing there expectantly, face blank behind his glasses.

"What is it, Shinra?" His voice curved a little on irritation, but he did his best to keep his voice light and teasing.

"That expression doesn't suit you. Are you that bothered by your injury? Do you need any painkillers?" Shinra almost seemed concerned, but Izaya opted to not dwell on it.

"I'm fine, I'm just irritated." He answered tersely, and then ignored Shinra for his work.

But Shinra didn't leave, crossing his arms and staring down at Izaya.

"Something's wrong," he insisted. "There's something you're not telling me."

And that was when an uncharacteristic rush of anger flooded through Izaya so strongly that he both wanted to strangle the brunette doctor and snap at him about what he was keeping from him. However, he did neither.

"I'm an informant. It's not strange for me to keep secrets." He all but snapped, looking pointedly at the doctor.

Shinra sighed and thankfully didn't press him.

"If you ever need anyone to talk to, Izaya, just remember that I'm here for you." He told Izaya, turning and finally leaving Izaya in peace.

Izaya only narrowed his eyes infinitesimally before trying to focus back on his work in order to suppress the snippets of _that_ trying to resurface.

But with the doctor gone, it was hard to suppress it when his work wasn't all that interesting and hardly anything pulled at his interest. Most of it seemed like the usual, things he seen before, sometimes over and over again in a way that eventually became boring once a person figured out the typical psychology behind it.

He groaned as he shut his laptop and ran a quick hand over his (slightly flushed) face since neither Celty nor Shinra were around. His dark gaze flitted across the room for anything to stop himself from thinking too much about his dream when he was certain it meant nothing. Despite his attempts to thwart such a thing from happening, his mind was becoming monomaniacal, fixating on the _what ifs_ on what his unconscious behavior meant about his reality.

Izaya wasn't really a fan of where his uncontrollable introspection was leading if it meant giving a name to the feeling he had felt, the feeling that had utterly overwhelmed him when Shizuo had looked _concerned_ when he had stopped talking and had had trouble standing straight when the rush of dizziness and blurriness hit. He took in a sharp inhale and his fingers twitched with an irrepressible urge to do _something_. He reached for the TV remote sitting nearby, but rather than just turn the TV on, he just fiddled with the remote, mindlessly pressing the buttons of the remote, except the power button. There was no logical reason for Shizuo to look concerned about him, they were enemies, nothing more, nothing less. And that would **never** change, not if Izaya could do anything about it.

At the present moment, he was extremely glad that Shinra had left him alone and that Celty still hadn't returned from an errand, because he was certain his brunette friend wouldn't leave him alone if he ever saw _Izaya_ , of all people, seeming fidgety. When Izaya looked at himself objectively, he could see just how much everything was getting to him if it was slipping through his carefully constructed masks Shizuo seemed determined to rip away, paying no heed to Izaya's own feelings about the matter.

His tongue flicked out across his lips and he creased his brow as he looked over at the innocent looking crutches he had left leaning against the side of the couch. He was just placing the remote down and reaching for his crutches when Celty returned. Izaya froze for the quickest of seconds to make sure his usual mask was smoothed down with no rough edges before he wrapped his fingers around the crutches and brought them closer to himself.

[Izaya...How is your foot?] Celty typed, holding out her PDA after Izaya had hoisted himself onto his feet, the crutches tucked under his shoulders and his intentions had been to return to the guest room to retire for the night as the light of day bled into the darkness of night.

He gave her a blank look before he answered, both being biting but also avoiding actually answering her question.

"It's my ankle, Courier-san." Izaya said airily, a cool and distance affectation coming over him.

[Right. How's your ankle?] Celty seemed a little off-put even though she had had head or face and her helmet was still on.

"I'm not sure since I'm not a doctor, and I'm sure Shinra would love to tell you all about it. Now if you'll excuse me, I plan to retire for the night."

[Goodnight then...]

Izaya ignored her and turned both his good foot and the crutches at an angle back towards the guest bedroom and began to make his way there, slowly but steadily. Of course his ankle hurt! If it didn’t, there was no way he would lounge around lazily at Shinra’s when he could better mettle with his humans back at his own apartment, or on the streets and alleys of Ikebukuro, or he could taunt a beast and flirt with a distant death, and still get the thrill of the adrenaline coursing through his veins and the rapid beatings of his heart... _and maybe get to see something more of Shizuo._

He practically threw down the crutches, and flopped down on the bed carelessly.

_No,_ he told himself. _I only like the thrill of it, nothing more. We are nothing more than enemies and that was all they would be. And I’m perfectly fine with that, I don’t care if nothing ever changes. I don’t **want** it to change._

He frowned at himself at how hollow the words sounded as he insisted upon them in his mind, but he was already so worn out from thinking too much earlier that he just wanted to rest. He fluttered his eyelashes and, within minutes, was overtaken by sleep.

***

_Izaya_.

What? Who’s that?

_Izaya_.

Izaya blinked open his eyes sleepily, squinting despite the fact that made it even harder to see and tried to make out the hazy shape leaning over his bed.

Blonde hair...bartender outfit... _Shizu-chan..._

Shizu-chan?!

Izaya bolted upright only to find he was alone in the dark of the room, with only the faint sound of the ceiling fan, and the occasional creak of the apartment. He narrowed his eyes at himself for his naïveté because there was no reason Shizuo would come to Shinra’s this late at night, not try to kill Izaya in his sleep, and try to wake Izaya up as though he had something to tell him.

But what if the real Shizuo, because Izaya immediately dismissed the Shizuo he had seen as a figment of his imagination, like the Izaya from his dream who wanted Shizuo, did have something he wanted to tell him?

_This is ridiculous,_ Izaya rolled his eyes and laid back down in the bed, fiddling with the covers, _I must be going crazy. First, there was that stupid dream that dares suggest or imply I have any kind of feelings towards that beast other than hatred, and now I’m imagining seeing him when he’s not there?_

He finally pulled the sheets back over himself and snuggled back down into the bed. He would deal with this stupid shit tomorrow, he decided, and his mind had the courtesy to agree and leave him alone so he could once again succumb to the lull of sleep.


End file.
